1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to means for measuring the flight of a ball, and more particularly, to a device and method for measuring the kinematics of a moving ball, such as a golf ball, and a modified ball for use therewith.
2. Description of Prior Art
Currently, some driving ranges, golf shops, or the like have so called electronic swing analyzers or similar devices which normally use a tarpaulin or other type netting into which a golfer may hit a golf ball to determine where the golf ball might land on a golf course. Such tarpaulins or the like might include a projected golf course or a computer generated image of a golf fairway to produce an image of approximately where the ball would have landed on the course. However, the known devices do not have means to completely and conclusively measure how fast the ball is traveling, its launch angle, the tracking angle or the spin characteristics of the ball. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a device and method to simultaneously measure all kinematic motion parameters of a ball, such as a golf ball in flight, and which may be used to play a virtual game, such as a game of golf.